A homily for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, Matthew 1st 8:15-20
I asked Siri on my phone, “How many people are there on the planet?” And she said, “There are 8 billion 100 million people on the planet.” And I just smiled because I say, all those people and no two are compatible. It’s like God made us so there’s going to be friction, because I actually think it’s in the friction that we grow. We learn patience, we learn forgiveness, we learn generosity, we learn love.
In today’s Gospel, Matthew’s Gospel, we have: when there is friction, what do you do? You know, you go talk to the person — first step. If it doesn’t work, then you bring another person with you. If that doesn’t work, then you bring witnesses with you. If that doesn’t work, then you tell it to the whole church. What is Jesus — really, what is Matthew — telling us? It’s important to preserve the relationship. It is important. And so, at the end, if that doesn’t work, Jesus says in Matthew’s Gospel — really, Matthew says — treat them as you shun them, as you would a foreigner or a tax collector. But we know that’s what Jesus did to foreigners and what he did to tax collectors. He embraced them and brought them into his company. Even then, it says, preserve the relationship, because it’s in the relationship we grow.
This crossed my Facebook feed, and I think this fills in very well with what Jesus would say when he says, when somebody does you wrong, turn the other cheek, love them anyway, don’t answer fire for fire or wrong for wrong. This crossed my Facebook feed, and it’s this week, and it’s very, very good.
This ruined a good part of my afternoon. It did happen at the café, but I don’t tell Karen stories, so you’re not going to get that part. But here’s the thing that I want to focus on. After I got done today, I was sort of having a conversation with myself, being like, “Gosh, like, I can’t believe how much this is bothering me.” But then that reminded me of something — something that I live by. And that is to do my best to never be that person who ruins someone else’s day. To not be the stranger who was mean to someone walking down the street. To not give a judging look to someone wearing their new hat that they were already self-conscious about. To not be the thing that is keeping somebody up at night replaying a scenario that happened earlier in the day that they’re upset about. To instead be the glimmers.
I think this takes it one step further than today’s Gospel. Don’t be that person that starts it. Don’t be that person that causes the friction, that causes the tension. Don’t be that person. I think it fits very well with Jesus — all through the Gospels, the same. Saint Teresa of Ávila says the same. She takes it that one step further also. She writes, “Look for Christ our Lord in everyone, and you will then have respect and reverence for all.” So I think that’s the secret, and that’s the bottom line, and that’s the point of today’s Gospel and all the Gospels: the friction, the tension, is because we’re just seeing our point of view or our sensitivity, our ego. Don’t be that person. As the guy in the video said, be all that glimmers instead.
